Chapter 244: Maybe I misunderstood
By the time Damian arrived at St. Albion, the campus had already returned to its usual Monday rhythm.
Students crossed the courtyard in groups, some carrying coffee, others balancing books against their chests as they hurried toward their first classes.
Damian walked through them without paying much attention.
He had a full day ahead.
Classes from ten until six.
A normal Monday.
He preferred it that way.
Normal meant predictable.
Predictable meant there was less room for unnecessary thoughts.
He reached the building for his first class and stepped inside.
Then he saw Christopher.
Christopher Archibald was standing near the windows with several other students, looking entirely unbothered by the Monday morning crowd.
He looked well.
More than well, actually.
Relaxed.
Composed.
As though he had slept perfectly and had absolutely nothing weighing on his mind.
Damian slowed for half a second.
Christopher noticed him.
Their eyes met.
Christopher gave him a brief nod.
Damian returned it.
Nothing unusual.
Nothing worth thinking about.
And yet Damian’s attention lingered.
He remembered last week.
He had kept on wondering whether Christopher and Vivienne were texting.
He even treated Christopher as some kind of competition.
Yes he learned on Saturday that Vivienne and Christopher were indeed texting.
And now—
Damian looked at Christopher again.
He almost laughed at himself.
Why did he care?
If Vivienne wanted to flirt with Christopher, that was her business.
In fact, perhaps Christopher would eventually discover what Damian had.
Maybe Vivienne would turn that same sweetness on him.
Maybe she’d make him feel special.
Maybe she’d ask him for little favors.
Maybe she’d lean into his attention.
And maybe, eventually, Christopher would realize that he had simply been another convenient person in whatever complicated situation existed between Vivienne and Anthony.
Damian’s expression hardened.
Whatever.
He didn’t know what Vivienne was doing.
And he didn’t care.
At least, he shouldn’t.
Christopher walked past him toward the classroom.
"Morning."
"Morning."
Christopher continued inside.
Damian watched him for another second before following.
He really needed to stop thinking about her.
--
The first class passed without incident.
Damian took notes.
Answered when called upon.
Listened to the lecture.
He did everything he normally did.
And for the most part, his mind stayed where it belonged.
Almost.
During the break, Julian and Adrian found him outside the classroom.
Julian looked up first.
His expression immediately changed.
"Oh."
Damian frowned.
"What?"
Adrian glanced at him.
Then at Julian.
Julian’s mouth twitched.
"You’re still in a bad mood."
"I’m not."
"You were yesterday too."
Damian kept walking.
"I’m tired."
Julian fell into step beside him.
"You were tired yesterday."
"Yes."
"And the day before?"
Damian gave him a look.
"Are you keeping track?"
"Someone has to."
Adrian laughed.
Damian ignored them.
Julian studied him for a moment.
Then his expression turned knowingly amused.
"So."
Damian already knew where this was going.
"So what?"
"Lady Beaumont."
"Don’t."
Julian grinned.
"I haven’t even said anything."
"You were about to."
"Of course I was."
Adrian shook his head.
"After yesterday, I think we’re entitled to ask."
Damian stopped.
"What exactly do you want to ask?"
Julian raised both hands innocently.
"Nothing serious."
A pause.
Then—
"Are you going to see your lady love later?"
Damian’s expression immediately flattened.
"No."
Julian blinked.
Adrian looked at him.
"No?"
"No."
Julian’s amusement faded slightly.
"You’re serious."
"Yes."
"Why?"
Damian looked away.
"Because I’m not doing that again."
Neither man spoke for a moment.
Adrian exchanged a glance with Julian.
"Doing what?"
Damian continued walking.
"Whatever you think I was doing."
Julian followed.
"You were pursuing her."
"I’m not anymore."
That made both men quiet.
Julian studied him from the side.
"But yesterday—"
"Yesterday was yesterday."
There was something final in Damian’s voice.
Julian didn’t push immediately.
Adrian, however, looked thoughtful.
"You two had some sort of disagreement?"
Damian’s jaw tightened.
"Nothing happened."
Julian gave him a skeptical look.
"That’s not what it looked like when you came back to us."
Damian remembered it.
The party.
The noise.
Vivienne sitting across from him.
Anthony watching.
That familiar, humiliating realization.
He pushed the memory away.
"I’m tired."
Julian stared at him.
Then sighed.
"Fine."
He let the subject drop.
"For now."
Damian ignored him.
The three of them continued down the corridor.
They talked about classes.
An upcoming polo practice.
A professor who had apparently assigned far too much reading.
Normal things.
Damian was grateful for it.
Because normal conversation didn’t require him to think about Vivienne.
And he was determined not to.
--
By lunch, Damian had nearly succeeded.
Nearly.
He sat with Julian and Adrian, half-listening to their conversation while picking absently at his food.
His phone lay beside his hand.
He glanced at it.
Nothing.
He looked away.
A few minutes passed.
His eyes drifted back toward it.
Still nothing.
Damian frowned.
Why was he checking?
He already knew she wasn’t going to text him.
Or—
Perhaps she would.
The thought came before he could stop it.
Maybe she had realized.
Maybe she knew he’d been upset yesterday.
Maybe she was going to apologize.
Damian leaned back slightly.
He hated that he was still hoping for it.
But the more he thought about yesterday, the less certain he became of his own conclusions.
He had been angry.
More than angry, perhaps.
Embarrassed.
Offended.
He had watched Vivienne ask him for things while Anthony was sitting across from them, and he’d immediately assumed she was using him to provoke her former fiancé.
But had she actually said that?
No.
Had she told him she wanted him to make Anthony jealous?
No.
Had she even asked Damian to pursue her?
No.
He had been the one who decided to pursue her.
He had been the one who deliberately sought her out.
He had been the one who stepped into the tug-of-war line.
The one who caught her.
The one who volunteered to carry her.
The one who kept finding reasons to stay beside her.
Vivienne had simply responded.
Perhaps she had enjoyed his attention.
Perhaps she had flirted with him.
Perhaps she had even known exactly what she was doing.
But that didn’t necessarily mean she had intended to hurt him.
Damian exhaled slowly.
Maybe he had been too quick to assume the worst.
Maybe she had simply been trying to prove something to Anthony.
And if that was all it was—
He could understand that.
It didn’t mean he had to like it.
But he could understand it.
His gaze dropped to his phone again.
Nothing.
A strange disappointment settled over him.
𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮
He hadn’t expected an apology.
At least, that was what he told himself.
But if she did apologize—
Damian’s thoughts stalled.
He knew exactly what he would do.
He would listen.
He wouldn’t punish her for something she might not even have realized she’d done.
And if she told him that she hadn’t meant to use him—
He would believe her.
Because despite everything, he still wanted to believe her.
That was probably the most embarrassing part.
He picked up his phone and unlocked it.
No messages.
Damian stared at the empty notification screen for another second.
Then locked it again.
Julian noticed.
"You expecting something?"
Damian looked up.
"No."
Julian’s eyes narrowed.
"You looked at your phone three times in the last five minutes."
"I was checking the time."
"You have a watch."
Damian glanced at his wrist.
Damn it.
Adrian laughed.
Julian grinned.
"Lady Beaumont?"
Damian’s expression tightened.
"Can we not?"
Julian raised his hands.
"Fine."
Damian looked down at his food again.
He wasn’t expecting her.
He was simply—
waiting.
There was a difference.
At least, that was what he told himself.
Then Christopher passed their table.
Damian’s eyes followed him for a moment.
And immediately, another thought surfaced.
Maybe she’s texting him.
He looked away.
If Vivienne was talking to Christopher, that was her choice.
And perhaps Christopher would eventually discover the same thing Damian had.
Or perhaps not.
Maybe Damian had been wrong about everything.
He didn’t know.
And that uncertainty was somehow worse than anger.
Because if Vivienne had genuinely meant to use him, then walking away was simple.
But if she hadn’t—
Then perhaps he had just thrown away something he actually wanted.
Damian exhaled.
Whatever.
He wasn’t going to chase her.
If she wanted to explain, she could.
If she wanted to apologize, he would listen.
But he wouldn’t humiliate himself by asking for either.
His phone remained silent beside his hand.
Damian turned it face down.
And this time, he forced himself not to look again.
--
The afternoon passed more quickly.
Classes.
Notes.
Discussions.
A short meeting concerning polo club matters.
Nothing unusual.
By the time Damian left his final class, the sky outside had begun to darken with the approaching evening.
He checked his phone as he walked across the courtyard.
Several messages had accumulated.
Julian.
Adrian.
A reminder from the polo club.
Nothing important.
He was about to lock the screen when another notification appeared.
This one made him stop.
Anthony Ashford
Damian stared at his cousin’s name.
For a moment, he simply stood there.
Then he opened the message.
Anthony: Are you free this evening?
Damian’s brow furrowed.
A second message appeared.
Anthony: I need to talk to you.
Damian read it twice.
Anthony rarely phrased things that way.
Especially not with him.
Damian looked at the screen again.
His first thought was Vivienne.
Of course it was.
He immediately pushed the thought aside.
Anthony hadn’t said anything about her.
Not yet.
Damian typed.
Damian: What about?
The reply came almost immediately.
Anthony: I’d rather discuss it in person.
A pause.
Then:
Anthony: Can you meet me tonight?
Damian stared at the message.
Something about it felt wrong.
Not dangerous.
Just—
deliberate.
Anthony wanted to talk.
And given everything that had happened yesterday, Damian had a fairly good idea what the conversation might be about.
He slipped his phone into his pocket.
For the first time all day, the quiet resolve he’d built around himself shifted slightly.
Whatever Anthony wanted to say—
Damian suspected it had something to do with Vivienne.
And he wasn’t sure whether he wanted to hear it.
--
Thc
AN: haha, i think damian’s reaction is quite normal. He felt offended but then when he has time to think of it, he would be more logical.